Returning asteroid sample can help crack secrets about how the solar system formed
Tricky sampling
Getting the sample wasn’t easy, however. In order to get a piece from below Ryugu’s surface, where the material is protected from meteorite impacts and radiation, the spacecraft had to move to a safe distance from it. There, it fired a projectile at the asteroid’s surface. The small crater that was created was then visited in a brief touchdown when material was collected. JAXA are being cautious about saying how much has been collected, but we are hoping for tens of grams.
The same sampling mechanism was used in the Hayabusa 1 mission, but on that occasion, the projectors and collection were mistimed – leading to only a thin cloud of dust being collected.
However, even that allowed us to work out how Itokawa formed and that it was identical in mineralogy to a type ofmeteorite called “LL5”. This, therefore, helped us explain how thousands of LL5 meteorites in our terrestrial collections formed too.
Next steps
Hayabusa 2, which has been on a six-year mission, departed for Earth in November 2019. There waslive YouTube coverageshowing the fireball of the return capsule, and a radio beacon within the capsule aided rapid recovery with drones and helicopters. The capsule will be taken to theSagamihara Campusnear Tokyo, Japan, for opening.
Sample return missions require laboratory techniques capable of analyzing minute samples. We will be deploying state-of-the-art methods includingorganic analyses,electron microscopy, which fires electrons at a sample to give a highly magnified view, andsynchrotrons– huge accelerators that generate X-rays to study matter in minuscule detail. A bit like during the Apollo era of the 1960s and 70s, and theStardust missionof 2006 onwards, the next generation of sample return missions will drive forward our analytical capabilities on Earth.
As the return mission is happening, the spacecraft minus its cargo of the asteroid sample will proceed to the last part of the mission, heading to a tiny asteroid called1998KY26. It will arrive in 2031 after a series of Earth flybys. Can Hayabusa 2 really land on this 30-meters wide asteroid? It will be a fascinating challenge. It could also help us work out how to divert asteroid that may be close to crashing into Earth in the future.
This article byJohn Bridges, Professor of Planetary Science,University of Leicesteris republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.
Story byThe Conversation
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